Street-railway rail



1N0 Model.) V

J. F. BARRETT.

. STREET RAILWAY RAIL.

Patented Mar. 24, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. BARRETT, OF MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

STREET- RAILWAY RAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters IPatent No. 556,799, dated March 24, 1896.

Application filed December 31, 1895. Serial No. 573,927. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN F. BARRETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milford, in the county of IVorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Street-Railway Rail, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rails for street-railways, and has for its object to provide simple and improved means in connection with the rails whereby the crossing thereof by vehicles is facilitated by preventing the slipping and straining common to this operation.

I am aware that rails for the purpose named have been devised, the same being provided with notches or recesses for engagement by the tires of vehicle-wheels; but the difficulty in connection with these devices has been to provide such a construction of notch or recess as to perform the desired function when a wheel strikes the same at any angle, and particularly at a very acute angle, as when a vehicle is being turned out of the railway-track which it has been following.

In order to so adapt a notch as to perform its function under all conditions, or when approached by a wheel at any angle,I have found it desirable, in connection with a V- shaped notch, to provide a central pyramidal rise of approximately one-half the entire depth of the notch to form engaging edges at the bottom of the notch, which incline upward and intersect approximately at the transverse cen ter of the notch, it being desirable in connection with a device of this class to avoid as far as possible those angles or edges which run parallel with the rail and provide such edges as will serve to engage the tire of a wheel and cause it to mount the rail.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rail constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of a portion of the rail, showing one of the notches. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a portion of the tread of the rail, showing one of the notches.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

The construction embodying my invention may be applied to a rail of any class, such as an L rail or Trail; but it will be suiiicient for the purposes of illustration to show the same in connection with the former class, (indicated in Fig. 1,) in which the horizontal flange 1 is adapted as a roadway for vehicles other than the tram-cars for which the rails are intended, while the treads 2 project a considerable distance, as an inch or more, above the upper surface of the flange.

Formed in the angle of the tread, at the innor side of the latter, is a series of notches 3 embodying my invention, said notches being V- shaped in plan, with a width, measured transversely of the rail, equal approxi' mately to one-half the length or base of the notch, measured longitudinally of the rail. In practice I preferably make the notch five eighths of an inch in length and one fourth of an inch in width, the depth measured vertically being also about one-fourth of an inch. The convergent side walls 4 of the notch are arranged in vertical planes, whereby the edges 5 formed by the intersection of said walls with the inner side of the rail are vertical. Inasmuch as the walls 4 are diagonally disposed with relation to the length of the rail the angles formed at their points of intersection with the inner side of the rail are obtuse.

Instead of forming the bottom of the notch to provide a re-entrant angle or a flat surface, the latter being objectionable by reason of providing an edge parallel with the length of the rail, I form an exterior angle or rise 6, the height of which from the horizontal line connecting the lowermost points of the edges 5 being approximately half the entire depth of the notch. In practice I preferably make this rise about three thirtyseconds of an inch, whereby the obtuse angles 7 are approximately in alignment with the pyramidal angles 8 formed at the intersections of the walls 4: with the inner and upper surfaces of the tread. By continuing the angle at the intersection of the edges 7 back to the re-entrant angle formed by the walls 4 and extending said line up to the surface of the tread I provide a pyramidal boss which forms the bottom of the notch, said boss being approximately one half the height or depth of the notch.

The advantage derived from the peculiar construction above described consists in the fact that a wheel approaching the tread or coming in contact therewith does not slip the length of the notch in contact with a horizontal longitudinal edge, but immediately engages one of the inclined edges 7, and hence immediately mounts to the upper surface of the tread. The disadvantage resulting from said slipping motion is due to the fact that during this movement the tire of a wheel would rub upon the vertical edge 5 before the tire could reach a seat upon the opposite side of the notch, and when the wheel did reach a seat upon the opposite side it would be insufficient in width by reason of the lower side of the notch, which aifords no bearing, being in the way.

By the construction above described the lower edge of the notch is constructed to perform a positive and desirable function in that it assists the engagement of the wheel instead of interfering therewith, and the reason for thus assisting the engagement of the wheel is that the edges 7 incline upward toward the center of the notch and are thus opposed to a wheel when approaching the notch in any direction.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A railway-rail having an upper or eX- tom formed by inclined surfaces which intersect the side surface of the tread in upwardly convergent engaging edges, substantially as specified.

2. A railway-rail having its tread provided in an upper exposed angle with notches, :he same being V-shaped in plan and having its bottom formed by a pyramidal boss, the apex of which is in the plane of the side surface of the tread and two of the angular edges of which converge upwardly toward said apex,

substantially as specified.

3. A railway-rail having its tread provided in an upper exposed angle with notches. I110 same being V-shaped in plan with a width and depth each approximately equal to onehalf the length, having vertical convergent side walls intersecting the side surface of the tread to form vertical edges 5, and having its bottom formed by a pyramidal boss of which two of the edges 7 converge upwardly in the plane of the side surface of the tread, the rise of said pyramidal projection being approximately onehalf the depth of the notch, substantially as specified.

i. A railway-rail having its tread provided in an upper exposed angle with notches. the same being V-shaped in plan and having vertical convergent side walls which intersect the side surface of the tread to form vertical edges 5, whereby abrupt bearings are provided for wheels crossing the rail, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. BARRETT. Witnesses HORACE A. BROWN, CROCKER W. EASTMAN. 

